Kelly: Flooding and the Dunrobin plaza

Dunrobin Plaza Meeting

This week a meeting was held to start a conversation about the Dunrobin Plaza. Members of the Dunrobin Women’s Institute, the Community Association, and an owner of the Plaza were in attendance.

The discussion was about a possible art project to bring a little light to the building. A great discussion was held, and the Plaza owner is very eager for work to begin on returning the Plaza close to its previous state and happy to see a project of this sort take place for the community.

The lengthy task of managing the tornado, insurance claims, COVID-19 slowdowns, changes in City directives, contractors, and architects is something many of us have dealt with in our lives and the owner is currently in the process of untangling these knots that usually slow down or stop construction. The voice of the community has been heard and the frustration about the lack of forward progress is understood and shared by the owner, The entire group is hopeful this project can be the first step in the beautification process for this Plaza. More details about the project and its Facebook page will be released shortly. 

Spring Flooding

Once again, our community is dealing with flooding as the Ottawa River swells with wet weather and more snow melt to the North. I encourage everyone living in these flood-prone areas to regularly check the Ottawa River Regulation Planning Board website at https://ottawariver.ca/forecasts/ to help determine what sort of flooding your property may be exposed to.

More volunteers are sorely needed to help with building sandbag walls, along with filling and transporting sandbags. The City of Ottawa has mobilized many crews to fill and distribute sandbags and we thank them for their tireless work over the past two weeks. We encourage members of the community to check on elderly residents who may not have properly prepared. Please contact West Carleton Disaster Relief to share the addresses of vulnerable people so volunteers can be properly deployed to assist.

This is a challenge we will get through by working together as a community and although there is volunteer fatigue due to the frequency of these events we have still seen the strength and resilience of our community with people and businesses volunteering their time and resources to help their friends and neighborurs. Both the City and residents have clearly learned form past events and this year preparations started earlier. I want the thank the City of Ottawa for ensuring that we have had enough sand, bags, shovels, as well as the staff and human resources to support all the residents who need it.

Learn how you can help make your home more flood ready here: https://www.westcarletonrelief.ca/floodready

Hydro Ottawa Meeting

I recently attended a great meeting at Hydro Ottawa and learned of the many exciting initiatives the company is undertaking. Outages are obviously a major nuisance and, in our Ward, can have dangerous consequences. As with flooding, the outcome of these situations often depends on one’s ability to prepare. In the future, we hope to create an upgraded communication network to help people better prepare, and to deal with various issues that arise after an outage.

Although much of our ward is not serviced by Hydro Ottawa, it was encouraging to hear the power generator looking to find new ways of delivering energy. Having an open dialogue with the utility provider is important to ensure the needs of residents are being heard by a group that plays such an important role in our day-to-day lives. 

Volunteers are currently needed for flood relief efforts and I must express my gratitude to all those who have already been so helpful during this emergency.

To read all Coun. Clarke Kelly’s columns, click here.

The preceding column was written by City of Ottawa Ward 5 Coun. Clarke Kelly, part of the councillor’s ongoing, bi-weekly column for West Carleton Online, made available to the entire community through an agreement with the publisher.